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Properly Designed, Modern Steel Buildings Allow Large Numbers Of Hives To Be Safely Stored.

Properly Designed, Modern Steel Buildings Allow Large Numbers Of Hives To Be Safely Stored.

Posted by
John Miller
on October 10, 2017

John Miller, Project Apis m. Board of Directors, CFO

Honey bees have been trying to train humans to keep them indoors over
winter for thousands of years. The early examples bees used were
trees, hollow trees selected by the super-organism, the hive. Trees
provided cavities ideal for indoor wintering: well-insulated, controlled
atmosphere, safely above ground.

Along came humans with their logs and skeps and rectangles. Then
came the moveable frame. And then, keeping hives outdoors, shrouded in
straw, tar paper, and chicken wire, slightly downward sloped,
inner-cover for ventilation, southward facing, on the ground.

Science now confirms the validity of what the bee was attempting to
train humans to do. We now listen, applying our new understanding to
what the honey bee knew all along.

In America, over 100,000 hives now winter indoors, mostly in Idaho.
Canadians have wintered most of their bees indoors for decades; and the
knowledge accumulated is available for a new generation of bee
buildings.

A clean floor surface is vital. Hives continually shed debris. In a
tree, the detritus falls to bottom of the cavity to be scavenged by
others. In the new buildings, vacuum systems keep the floors clean, the
perished husks of dead bees and debris removed, to keep the environment
clean.

Temperature regulation can be accomplished with a combination of
refrigeration and fresh air handlers. Importantly, science confirms that
further regulation of Carbon Dioxide levels in the building can reduce Varroa destructor populations by up to 75% over a 60-day storage time.

Storage building designs have evolved since 1926 when George Krause,
among other early innovators, wintered his bees near Riverton, Wyoming,
in a bee-storage designed cellar. Properly designed, modern steel
buildings allow large numbers of hives to be safely stored. Hive
well-being can be sampled from floor debris to confirm the presence or
absence of unwanted species such as fire-ants, hive beetles, and weeds.

It is possible, after reliable sampling and documenting results, for
loads of bees from clean, safe indoor wintering sites to clear needless
delays at inspection stations. Similarly to certified weed-free hay
shipments, or One Pass exemptions for certified loads bypassing weigh
stations, opportunities for simpler, safer beehive transport are
possible.

This initiative requires collaboration between beekeepers, the Apiary
Inspectors of America, state departments of agriculture; and pest
detection personnel. Rules are being developed. But this initiative is
in early development.

New-generation building designs have grown from 6,000 square feet to
60,000 square feet just in the past two years. Within ten years, it is
possible that 750,000 to 1,000,000 hives will be wintering in safe,
climate-controlled buildings, monitored by sophisticated systems –
reporting near real-time data to our phones. Healthier hives are in our
future.
John Miller,
Project Apis m. Board of Directors, CFO